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Haha. Fair enough Melampus. Sharpness of the knife is a tremendous consideration. I prefer hand-made, I like a more rustic design typically vs a plain/polished blade. I prefer darker handles most of the time, but that's not a need. I would love if it came with a saya, but that's not a deal breaker. My cooking varies greatly, I'll cook Japanese and Korean, Russian, Italian, and American fare. I have a bamboo cutting board and an olive cutting board. I am comfortable with taking meticulous care of the knife. This will be my first Japanese knife, so I am not sure as far as geometry and things of that nature.

GlitchKing

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:53 pm

Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:37 pmPosts: 24

Adam- I actually looked at the Masakage and was very interested.

SteveG

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:16 pm

Forum Moderator

Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:00 pmPosts: 2906

Glitch - I steered you towards the Konosuke HD Gyuto because of the list that you were researching. Those are thin knives.

If you are open to a middle weight Gyuto that has a bit more heft (still not heavy by any means) for some cutting power, then there are a bunch of knives that might work for you.

If you can, give us a list of knives on CKTG that catch your eye and you can get some feedback and start a dialog to narrow it down a bit.

As an example, the Konosuke and the Masakage mentioned so far in this thread are both great knives, but they are very different in many ways.

GlitchKing

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:31 pm

Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:37 pmPosts: 24

I see. The Ginga recommendation came from Jon at Japanese Knife Imports, the Takamura came from my researching metals (I read that R2 was supposed to some miracle metal, and it was affordable), the Yusuke came from reading reviews.

The knives that catch my eye have more to do with aesthetics than they do with knowledge of knives and steels. So I dont know if my finding knives that catch my eye would be more or less confusing, because I might end up picking knives that only look good but that dont make sense.

SteveG

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:07 pm

Forum Moderator

Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:00 pmPosts: 2906

I assume you've been using Western handled Euro styled knives thus far, or cheap stamped house knives that can be light because they're so thin. What are you currently using and what preferences have you developed aside from aesthetics. It would help to know as well how you use a Chef's knife ITK. What's your cutting style(s)? Do you like a lot of belly for rocking or do you push cut and like a blade with a good flat spot for that, etc.

The choice of blade steels will affect edge retention, sharpening characteristics, corrosion resistance, toughness and so on and sometimes to a lesser degree, the handling or "feel" of a knife.Blade construction, shape profile, grind geometry, weight, thin/thickness, handle style, and more will affect the handling and performance on the board. IMO the second set of characteristics is what you need to narrow down first, then pick the best steel from those candidates that meets your needs.

Again as an example:

The Konosuke HD 240 Gyuto is a mono steel knife made from a great semi-stainless alloy. It's made from metal stock and laser cut, then shaped (I think this is correct ) It is very thin, and very light (for a 240), with great fit & finish, has nicely ground blade geometry from spine to edge, nice classic edge profile, etc.

The Masakage Yuki 240 Gyuto is a hand made knife composed of stainless steel cladding over a carbon steel center core. It's got a refined rustic look that oozes character. It's thin at the edge, much thicker at the spine vs. the Kono, a middle weight blade w/more of a weight forward balance point, nice F&F, nice grinds but very different than the Kono, nice profile, etc.

They're both awesome performers, but they feel totally different in use, and they look very different as well.

You indicate a preference for hand made and rustic. Even in that style, Mark has Gyutos that are thicker/thinner, lighter/heavier, shorter/taller, flatter/more curved, more expensive/less expensive and so on. This is not even taking the core steel into consideration.

I hope this isn't scaring you. I just want to point out that these knives have many characteristics to consider, price not withstanding of course .

The more info you can give everyone, the more you can narrow it down to some great candidates that will fit your needs and wants.

GlitchKing

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:33 pm

Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:37 pmPosts: 24

Definitely not scaring me. I realize this knives are a complex tool and that there is a lot about them I just don't know.

I tend to rock my knife and dont really push cut. We had our knives provided by our kitchen, they were western style and definitely impressive. Our knives were sharpened every week and I'm pretty sure they were stamped out. Now I would be willing to change and adjust my technique if it was important for the knife.

Thanks for all of the help guys. I feel a little lost at sea, there's just a lot more to knives then I realized before.

GlitchKing

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:40 pm

Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:37 pmPosts: 24

I meant to say, that our knives were NOT impressive.

SteveG

Post subject: Re: Gyuto Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:10 pm

Forum Moderator

Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:00 pmPosts: 2906

Yeah, there's a lot to it, but it's fun research . If you like rock cutting, then find a knife that fits your technique IMO. The only adjustments usually needed are done to accommodate the thinner edges and harder steel, but that's more about common sense practices and respecting these great tools than anything else. That being said, you'll likely find that even some of these with more "belly" for rocking will still have flatter edge profiles a bit more like French versus German styles of chef knives. This can lend itself to exploring different cutting styles like push cutting, push/pull glide, using just the tip area, etc. They can be supremely versatile - it's part of the allure.

I'd suggest looking a some of Shaun's videos (aka MrKnifeFanatic) for some great education on a variety of Gyutos. Here a page to get you started: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/gokogyuto240mm.html. Hit is YouTube channel and look through his stuff.

You can also view some of my Quick Look videos if one exists on the product page for stuff you're browsing.

Here are some 240 Gyutos that have more middle-of-the-road characteristics as far as height, weight, profile, etc. to get you started. Adam already suggest a great one!

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